Friday, July 13, 2012

Canada Trip – Part Three

We woke up early the next day to check out of Irwin’s and head to another mountain town, Radium. Not without coffee, of course! We walked back downtown to the adorable, The Cake and Coffee to stock up a day’s supplies. We knew we’d be in the road for most of the day, so we each picked a wrap to save for lunchtime. Chris also introduced me to one of his favorite Canadian treats, the Nanaimo bar. It’s like a layer of brownie, custard, and fudge combined into a pretty tasty dessert.

Once we had our supplies, we hit the road for a scenic drive across the Contential Divide. Our first stop was somewhat unexpected…

Wildlife!

We thought it was a caribou, but after reviewing the National Park brochure we’d gotten, we knew it was an elk. And, we never did see a caribou.

Our next stop was a little hike to Johnston’s Canyon. This had been highly recommended by Trip Advisor, so I knew we had to check it out. The canyon did not disappoint!

Very well maintained hiking path. We even passed some strollers.

The canyon has two, “equally spectacular,” falls to hike to, and because we didn’t really have all the time in the world, we chose the much shorter, Lower Falls Hike.

After the hike, we continued down Bow Valley Parkway to Castle Mountain. Chris stopped to grab a cup of coffee, giving me just the right amount of time to snap some photos of the crazy-looking mountain.

Bow River, again.

Then we turned off the main highway, leaving Alberta’s Banff National Park and entering Kootenay National Park, in British Columbia.

This part of Canada has seen a ton of forest fires. Despite how crazy sad it looked, our national park brochure told us a lot about the importance of forest fires; so instead of feeling bad for the dead trees, I kept looking for new baby trees growing back.

We stopped at this lovely viewpoint to eat our wraps before finishing the drive to Radium.

Chris’s grandparents (the city ones) used to have a condo at the Radium Resort and Golf Course and he remembers spending many wonderful summers here. The town is pretty tiny, but it’s got the essentials. We stayed at the comfortable, Crystal Springs Motel. Radium sort-of reminded me of Winter Park/Fraiser, CO, where I spent many summers with my family.

For a light dinner, we sat outside at Horsethief Creek Pub. We got two Canadian appetizers, potato and cheese periogies and the why-don’t-they-serve-these-in-America dry garlic ribs. The food was outstanding, and seriously, TGI Fridays needs to get those riblets on their menu, stat. Just because they aren’t deep fried doesn’t mean Americans won’t love them.

Our night in Radium finished up with ice cream at Screamers and a round of mini-golf down the street.